It Is Ridiculous The Amount Of Cricket Is Expected Of People To Play – Ben Stokes

Newly-appointed England Test captain Ben Stokes called for a reasoning schedule for teams throughout the year. Stokes acknowledged the fact that players get exhausted after playing all formats throughout the year.

Since the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic on mankind, England has played 26 Test matches, the most for any international team.

Just after the conclusion of the Ashes 2021-22, England’s white-ball team visited the West Indies to play a five-match T20I series, although the squad led by Eoin Morgan was different.

Ben Stokes took a break from the game last year

Stokes took an immediate break from cricket to focus on his mental health last year in July and missed the Test series against India followed by the T20 World Cup in the October-November period.

The England all-rounder returned to the squad for the Ashes Down Under. After England failed to win eight Test matches combinedly in Australia and West Indies, Joe Root quit the Test captaincy role.

Stokes took over the baton from the Yorkshire player and will lead the revamp structure of England’s red-ball cricket.

The schedule definitely is something that needs looking at: Ben Stokes

The Durham player asked for better scheduling of fixtures and pledged his individual commitment to Test cricket over white-ball formats.

“The schedule definitely is something that needs looking at. It’s ridiculous the amount of cricket that is expected of people to play. The fact there is a Test match and a one-day series overlapping sums it up. It really needs looking at from a workload point of view, it is just so much,” Stokes said, as quoted by The Guardian.

“I want to play as much as I can for England and in an ideal world you would have a schedule that allows you to play everything, but unfortunately that is not possible. My No 1 priority is Test cricket at the moment so I have to prioritise that over white ball,” he added.

England will host Kane Williamson-led New Zealand for three Test matches with the first Test commences on June 2 at the Lord’s.

Also Read: Ben Stokes Confirms Joe Root Will Bat At Number Four In His Test Squad